Stephen Chipchase

Colours of change – autumn to winter

These images observe and record the colour of the Dorset countryside as the season transitions from autumn to winter. The sun shining low in the sky cast long shadows and either back-lit subjects photographed against it or created strong light when facing away from it. The overriding colour recorded here is brown, with one or two colourful exceptions, such as the blue tit with its blue, yellow and green plumage.

The animals and birds seemed curious. Not all dashed for safety at the first sign of a human, but a few were content to stop, stare and assess the danger. The deer particularly held my gaze for quite some time before being spooked. The female stonechat was bold perched on a teasel very close to me and was in no hurry to move on. Others were more skittish – the heron took to the skies at the first sign of human presence.

Hornet and changing seasons

This hornet provided an opportunity to practice some macro photography with my boys. He was a bit dozy and slow so quite a good sitter. The image is actually from late September when the season was changing from summer to autumn.

Tomorrow I’ll move on to images of the changing season as we move from autumn to winter. Most of the leaves have fallen from deciduous trees and what is left is brown and orange.

Due to lockdown many more people are taking an interest in the natural world. Last weekend I visited our local reservoir, Longham lakes. We were joined by walkers, photographers and fishermen. This fisherman was particularly proud of his afternoon catch and attracted the interest of quite a few people – all maintaining the appropriate social distance. After the photo op the carp was returned to the lake.

Common Darter Dragonfly

“When pairing, males hold females by the neck with claspers on the end of the abdomen. The female dips the tip of her abdomen into the water to lay eggs, or else inserts them into plant stems.”

^{RSPB Handbook of Garden Wildlife, Peter Holden and Geoffrey Abbott, page 111}

We have a pond fairly close to home. As we struggle with covid restrictions, lockdowns and R numbers, these two dragonflies are preparing for next spring.

Dragonflies are colourful insects. They are similar to damselflies, but their wings stick out to the side when at rest, whereas the damselfly wings rest above the body.

Chiffchaff

Going back a few weeks into early autumn I had a lake full of beautiful water fowl, swans, geese, etc. behind me, but what most captivated me in this moment was a small group of chiffchaffs darting around a stile. They would land, then almost immediately launch themselves again into the air to catch an insect, then land again and repeat the sequence. They were so distracted by this feeding frenzy that they weren’t at all concerned by my presence.

Next week I have a few more images I would love to share with you from the natural world around me. Some are of the insect world and others reflect the changing season as we move from autumn to winter here in Dorset. My plan is to post daily Monday to Friday, so I sign off for this week with this chiffchaff. Thank you for reading. Stay safe and I look forward to catching up on Monday.

Little Egret

Look at those feet! They use them to rake through the mud in the shallows at the edge of rivers or lakes in search of food. This is another bird that appears to have an increasing year round population here in Dorset. I see them at all the local sites at the edge of fresh water. They are readily apparent, due to the colour, which has its challenges when trying to photograph them. Its so easy to over blow the highlights. They can also be seen sitting in trees overlooking a body of water.

I caught this one on a sunny, autumn morning in Northbourne on the river Stour. It had found a shaded spot to perch just above the water. The sun was low in the sky behind me lighting my subject perfectly, so I adjusted my exposure compensation down a couple of notches. The Egret wasn’t sure whether to focus on me as a potential threat, or to engage in one of its favourite activities, fishing. I quickly took just a few shots and left him to his breakfast.

Stonechat

The Stonechat is so named because the sound it makes is like two stones or pebbles being banged together. The male has the darker head. The female is a more muted brown. These birds are quite widespread and I see them all through the year at different locations. They are normally seen sitting prominently on the top of a gorse bush or hawthorn bush or heather, before flitting into the air to catch a passing insect.

I have numerous shots like this of both the male and female, but this is probably my best example where the bokeh effect of the background enhances and isolates the main subject. This shot was taken at Badbury Rings in Dorset, but I have seen them at Longham lakes, Stanpit Marsh, Hengistbury Head, Whitesheet, RSPB Arne and Canford Heath – all local sites.

Rook

Badbury Rings is the site of an Iron Age fort with three earth rings. It is located between Wimborne Minster and Blandford Forum and is owned by the National Trust. These days its a popular location for dog walkers and others seeking an hour or two of recreation.

Immediately next to the car park is a field used for point-to-point racing. One of the jumps is next to the entrance and is quite often used as a resting post by rooks, stonechats and other resident birds. Rooks are ever present. They are found waddling around the grass, roosting in the trees, flying purposefully from one location to another (passing other rooks purposefully flying in the opposite direction). Some will take to the air to harass raptors such as Buzzards and Kestrels.

I usually don’t give them a second look, but somehow this one caught my attention. A face only a mother would love, but maybe it was the background, which with the correct camera settings gave the bokeh effect so desired by wildlife photographers. Or maybe it was because on this particular morning there was nothing else around. Either way I was pleased with the result, further justification for the lens upgrade.

Buzzard

I see quite a lot of buzzards. They are usually soaring and gliding effortlessly on thermals circling slowly over farmland and open grassland. Normally they exude the calmness and strength of a raptor near the top of the food chain. Occasionally they can be seen to be slightly more flustered, such as in this exchange with a crow.

This picture was just above the river Stour near the Pamphill area just north west of Wimborne Minster. The crow continued to harass the Buzzard until it had moved on from its territory. The crow was feisty, but stayed clear of those talons.

Grey heron

Within a mile of home we have a river, the river Stour. It’s about 62 miles in length and by the time it reaches us there are only 10 miles to go until it empties out into the English Channel at Christchurch . There is a variety of wildlife to be found both within the river and in the fields and footpaths alongside.

On 18th August 2020 my son and I headed down to the river. The day was made memorable for two reasons. This Heron was the first. We found him paddling in a shallow section of the river just near the weir next to Canford School. He obviously felt safe (or hungry) because he was not spooked by our presence. We got plenty of photos.

Which brings me to the second reason. We both had identical DSLR camera bodies, Nikon D5200. However my son had a Nikon 55-200 lens, whilst I used my rather battered Sigma 70-300. The photos in this post are all from my son’s camera. I’d been thinking of replacing the Sigma for some time, ever since it had been dropped the previous summer. As I looked at the output from both cameras, the superior quality of my son’s photos made up my mind.

I’ve done couple of blog posts recently using photos from my new lens. Take a look and let me know what you think.

https://stephenswildlife.home.blog/2020/11/18/dartford-warbler/

https://stephenswildlife.home.blog/2020/11/19/kestrel/

Kestrel

November 2020. The weather is overcast, with an occasional ray of sunshine peeping through the cloud cover. The wind is blowing with the sea looking decidedly choppy. Several cruise ships are just visible at anchor in the bay off Hengistbury Head. The car park is full. People taking exercise and walking dogs. And then I see her. Absolutely unmistakable hanging in the air no more than 15-20 feet above the grassy bank next to the car park. Fearing that she will be spooked by my presence I walk slowly toward her. She is completely unphased. Her head remains quite still as her wings and tail flutter just enough to keep her motionless in the wind. Her focus is solely on the ground beneath her. She permits herself a momentary glance in my direction, before resuming her search.

I absolutely love this photo taken by my son on a visit to Badbury Rings in August 2020. The chestnut brown wings with black tips, the grey head and that beak and black eyes circled in yellow are all so clear. It is the grey head and slightly smaller size that distinguish the male bird from the female. The bird is at rest and is aware of our presence, but allows us time to get this photo.

Another of my favourite sites is Stanpit Marsh on the other side of Christchurch Harbour from Hengistbury Head. On a visit in October 2020 this male kestrel was the star turn. He was on the hunt and very nearly caught this stonechat, but not quite.